US Ag Secretary Perdue Urges EU to Make Science-based Decisions

United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urges European policymakers to make science-based decisions if they want to help their farmers tackle concerns over sustainability. Perdue said that decisions on food should be based on science.

Secretary Perdue spoke to a group of journalists in Brussels, Belgium, and said that EU policymakers are aware of the challenges in agriculture. He also met with EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, as well as EU health chief Stella Kyriakides and Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan. When asked if EU policymakers are willing to have discussions on agricultural biotechnology, Secretary Perdue said that EU policymakers are willing to do it. He added that there was some anxiety regarding the ability to counteract NGOs who spread fear about GMOs.

Secretary Perdue also defended the use of CRISPR, calling it a "natural breeding technique that is just expedited." He strongly believes the EU needs to communicate this message to the public. The Secretary insisted that decisions on food should be based on science and the European public opinion needs to understand that if they choose to have a technology-free zone, their producers are going to be at a huge disadvantage.

For more details, read the Euractiv article.